Defago Sweeps Past Bode for Downhill Gold

The men's downhill skiing competition surged out of the gate in Whistler today, but with all eyes on Bode Miller, little-known Swiss skier Didier Defago unseated the American's solid performance and snatched the gold for himself. Defago, which the New York Times notes isn't even the most famous skier with his first name on his team, topped Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway and forced Miller to settle for bronze.

With conditions finally hard and fast after workers pulled an all-nighter, Miller went down eighth in dark conditions. The sun came out just before Defago's run, and one US skier noted: “If Bode had better light, I think he could have made up the .9 seconds and won the thing.” (More Bode Miller stories.)